Davos opens earlier than ever before

The view in Davos on Saturday 30 October - the earliest it has ever opened

The ski resort of Davos became the first non-glacier resort in Switzerland to open some skiing this weekend, taking advantage of the early snowfall.

The resort opened Totalp, or piste number 15, on Saturday and Sunday, proudly announcing that it is the earliest it has ever opened a lift for the season. Skiers were clearly enjoying themselves in the sunshine, posting some fantastic pictures on the resort’s facebook page. The lower slopes were open for hikers and mountain bikers as usual in the autumn.

Elsewhere in the canton of Graubunden, Flims/Laax opened some skiing over the weekend, and as we mentioned Loveland and A-Basin in Colorado opened late last week, slightly later than usual due to unseasonably warm autumn.

While the early openings are great, they bear little relation to the conditions for the coming winter, warns our snow guru Fraser Wilkin in his first snow report of the season. Read it in full here.